Customer Reviews

The Masorah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: Introduction and Annotated Glossary

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the foremost contemporary compilations for aiding students in the ways of the Tiberian Masorah (magna and parva) in BHS. Brief histories are given, and brief summaries of every symbol encountered in the margins (masora parva) and footnotes (masorah magna) of BHS. I use this tool every time I read in BHS to aid me in understanding the Masorah, which adds much insight to the OT text. I openly recommend this book with no reservations whatsoever.

The best reasonably available study on Masoretic information is Israel Yeiven, Tiberian Masorah. It gets the five stars. But it has not always been easy to find in the past, and the typography (a typewriter and pen) ain't so hot. ;-) I haven't seen editions where this is improved.

With some books what might follow is the distant runner-up you have to settle for as a replacement. But Kelley's intro is so good that the typical student will never know what s/he is missing from Yeiven. Typography is important for Hebrew, especially for us not 100% fluent seeing it every day of our reading lives. For example, Marcus Jastrow's "Dictionary" is a fantastic tool yet tortuous for one reason---the typography is not so good and the print in my edition is tiny and this hurts its practical value. But everything in this study of the Masorah is large, clear, and appealing in English and Hebrew (although there is not a great amount of Hebrew reading other than notation examples.)

Yeiven seems to assume a good understanding of biblical Hebrew, while this volume is truly geared to a student. (Yeiven should expect you to know your Hebrew!) This volume is also more easily available. It is not exhaustive, and don't even expect a discussion here of both masorah magna and parva.

If you cannot get Yeiven, don't worry and confidently settle for this book. If you can get Yeiven, go ahead and buy this one also.

This main reason to buy this is for the annotated glossary od massoretic terms. It's the best guide to use those oh-so-cryptic massoretic notes on the margins of BHS. Many detailed definitions of the words and abbreviations-- far more useful information than most other similar introductions to BHS. I give it four stars instead of five because I wish they had done the same thing for the critical apparatus at the bottom. Other books cover the critical apparatus, but I think these authors could explain it much better than any other book currently does.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book.

From what I understand regarding what is available for an introduction to the Masorah, it is the best for the following reasons:

(1) It does not give too much material for an introduction. Out of 241 pages, only 68 pages are the actual introduction. Pages 69-241 include a well done and thorough Glossary of the Hebrew terms and Hebrew abbreviations found in the Masorah, an extensive Bibliography, and a Scripture index.

(2) It does not require any prior exposure to Masorah studies.

(3) It is well written and easy to follow, with sufficient examples given throughout.

(4) It is quite scholarly; there will be no doubt that the authors are very knowledgeable and experienced. Additionally, it is well documented with many footnotes.

There are only two shortcomings in this reviewer's opinion, one minor and one major. The minor shortcoming is that some of the Hebrew terms and abbreviations found in the Masorah are not defined when presented in the examples. This can be remedied, however, if the reader is aware that the terms and abbreviations can be found in the Glossary. The major shortcoming is that there is no index of English terms. For example, if we want to find the discussion or discussions on Aaron ben Asher or Leningradensis or contra textum, there is no way to locate this material. Hopefully the authors will be able to add an English topic index to a second edition.

I found this book so helpful that I would encourage all those who have had little or no exposure to Masorah studies and who would like a thorough grasp of our BHS to obtain it.

However, it can seem a little daunting if you're coming at it from a truly introductory level. I read through the book during my first quarter of beginning Hebrew and spent more time absorbing this entirely new world than actually learning how to work with the Massorah. After finishing beginning Hebrew, taking several courses on the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and reading a few works by some latter day Massoretes, I took up this book again with a hunger to understand. And it delivers. I now feel that I could pick up any of the advanced works and have no difficulties at all with them except for my lack of Aramaic. BHS is now almost entirely open to me except for the criminally unavailable Massorah Gedolah by Weil. But, really, when you have access to L itself at Seforim Online and when you have numerous free computer programs out there like Xiphos, which allow you to quickly search for and locate whatever different Hebrew constructions are indicated by the Massorah parva, there is little more to be desired. My only complaint with the book, which keeps it from achieving the five-star status, is the glossary of Massoretic terms. But don't get me wrong. The authors excelled in what they provided. The definitions are clear. The examples are eminently lucid and helpful. It is what the authors have not provided that detracts from this work's perfection. A much more comprehensive glossary of Massoretic terms would have been ideal, even if examples could not be given for most of them. And with former lists like Ginsburg's in the public domain (Introduction To The Ginsburg Edition Of The Hebrew Old Testament by Geden and Kilgour or Volumes 1-4 of The Massorah), it should not have been difficult to include a great many more definitions in a single place. Overall, however, this book is worth every penny and minute of time you care to spend with it if you are not already at a somewhat advanced level of study. Unlock the mysteries of the scribes. Open this book and enter the Massorah.

This book is for the beginner,but should be appreciated by all. It says it's "aim is to acquaint them (i.e the student), with the tools necessary for ( study of Mesorah), and to demonstrate the use of these tools in a wide range of Mesoretic notes", and it does just that. It has a reasonable bibliography, and within the text mentions other volumes of interest, explaining their usefulness and limitations. It is keyed to BHS. This is a very valuable resource to those who "desire easy access to the study of Messorah".